A Togolese Tale rewritten by Phillip Martin

There was a famine in the land.  It was so bad that Spider had no food for himself, his wife, or his three children.  And, it shouldn't come as a surprise to you that Spider didn't like to be hungry.  Of course, it comes as no surprise that he also didn't like to work.  Spider never, ever, liked to work.  Fortunately for Spider, he was so very clever.  He knew if he put his mind to it, he could find some food and make everyone happy -- especially himself.

As he sat on the bench, the spider pondered a solution.  He sent his first child, Ontimang, to the south.  "My child, your family needs food.  See what you can find for us."  But, the child returned empty-handed.

That didn't stop Spider.  He called his other two children. "Asengéo and Apanikitapun, we need food.  One of you go to the east and the other go to the west.  Find what you can to save your family!"  But, once again, the children returned empty-handed.

Last of all, Spider called for his wife. "The children have found nothing.  It's up to you to rescue the family, Ma'koeba.  Go to the north and see what you can find for us."  And just like her children, eventually, the woman returned empty-handed.

"If you want something done right," Spider sighed, "you know who has to do it. Listen to me, my family.  Jaguar always has food.  It's time for him to share with us.  Yes, it's time for a jaguar feast."

"Spider!  Don't mess with Jaguar!" his wife cried.  "You'll never convince him to give us a feast."

Spider only smiled.

"Are you listening to me, husband?  You are clever, but not clever enough for Jaguar!"

Now, Spider loved a challenge.  It was like music to his ears.  When his wife said he couldn't do something, he was all the more determined to prove her wrong. He didn't like anyone telling him what he couldn't do.

And so, Spider made his way to the jaguar's cave.  "Hello, my dear friend.  I hope you are well.  I know you are always well fed.  A little famine in the land doesn't stop the mighty Jaguar from hunting."

"That is true," the big cat purred.

"And since you always have food ..." said the spider.

"... You want me to give you some," hissed Jaguar.

"Give?" said Spider.  "No, no, no.  I want to borrow from you."

"What do you want to borrow?"

"I only want enough for my family.  A bag or rice.  A little salt.  Maybe a jar of oil. Nothing more."

"That's all you need?  You don't want any meat?"

"I'm not going to worry about meat right now," said Spider.  "I need to feed my family.  I wouldn't complain if we had meat, but it isn't necessary right now."

"And, when do you plan to repay this loan?" asked the jaguar.

"You know me, Jaguar.  I always pay my debts quickly.  If you come to my home this afternoon, I will repay you."

"I'll see you in three hours."

The Spider family was very happy that there was some rice to eat.  "But, where is the meat?" asked his wife.

"Trust me, my wife," said Spider.  "Take care of the rice for now.  We'll have our meat this afternoon."

"When you said we'd have a jaguar feast, I didn't know that was what you meant," his wife said with a smile.

Spider smiled as well.

Right on time, just like he said, Jaguar arrived at Spider's home to collect on his debt.  But, of course, there was no money.  And, the jaguar understood that when he saw Spider and his entire family run behind their home.  The cat chased after them only to see the last member of the spider family climb inside an empty beehive that was buried underground.

Jaguar peered into the hive and roared, "Where is my money, Spider?"

"As it so happens," Spider replied, "I don't have any money for you right now."

"No money?" the jaguar roared again. "Then, I am just going to have to have some spider with the rice I see cooking over there."

"You're going to have to first see if you can get me out of this hive," chuckled Spider.

"Nobody gets away with disrespecting me," hissed the cat.  "I know how to solve this problem.  It's not nearly as tricky as you might think."  And with that said, the jaguar grabbed on to the beehive and pulled it out of the ground. There was one very surprised spider family inside the hive as Jaguar marched to the river.

By the water's edge, the jaguar called to the eel that lived along the shore.  "I need your help, my friend.  Can you please watch this hive while I go to gather some firewood?"

"I can do that for you, Jaguar," the eel replied.

As soon as the jaguar slipped into the forest, the beehive started to wiggle.  A spider leg popped out of the hole.  Then, one-by-one, the entire spider family climbed out.  And, then, they started to leave.

"What a minute!" cried Eel.  "You can't leave. Jaguar asked me to watch this beehive."

"Listen to yourself, my friend," said Spider.  "He asked you to watch the hive.  He said nothing about me or my family."

"You are right, Spider.  That is what he said."

"So, if you do just what he asked, how can you get in trouble?"

"I see your point," said the eel.  "I will do exactly what the jaguar asked of me.  I'm going to watch this hive."

"Thank you, my friend," replied the spider as he and his family hid behind a large tree.

When Jaguar returned with his firewood, he knew something was wrong when he lifted up the beehive.  "It's too light," he growled.  "Eel, where happened to Spider and his family?  I asked you to watch the hive.  Where did they go?"

"They left.  But, you didn't ask me to watch them.  You asked me to watch the beehive, and that's just what I did."

"ARE YOU KIDDING ME?" cried the jaguar.  "I'm now going to see how you taste with rice.  You should never have let them go."  He grabbed the eel by her very slippery neck and threw her into the fire.

What happened next was so very unexpected.  Eel didn't scream and try to escaped the fire.  No, she danced atop the flames.

"I don't believe this!" cried Jaguar. "What are you doing?"

"I love to dance.  This seemed like a good time to do just that."

"But, how can you dance in a fire?"

"It's not so difficult to do," said the eel.  "Would you like to give it a try?"

"I think I just might," he replied.

But, it wasn't nearly as fun as the eel suggested.  As soon as Jaguar stepped into the flames, his hair caught on fire.  The pain was so bad that he fainted. And, that was the moment that the spider family jumped into action.  Mama Spider and her children raced for more firewood.  At the same time Spider tied the jaguar up with a rope.

When his family returned with their arms filled with wood, Spider seasoned the jaguar with salt, honey, and chili.  Spider roasted the meat exactly as his family liked.  "You promised we would have meat with the rice," said Ma'koeba.  "I just never expected a jaguar feast to taste so good."

"That jaguar thought I was too small to be a threat to him.  He should have been more careful," Spider said with a smile.  "Good things come in small packages, and so do very clever things!"